Tag Archives: David Schapira

Arizona's gun laws are already among the most permissive in the nation, but that's not good enough for gun-rights advocates who are taking aim at restrictions on who may carry guns, where they may carry them and when they may use them to shoot people.

One lesson the state can take away from the ongoing financial crisis is that the state needs to be better prepared to handle plummeting tax revenue in the future - and that may require a return to the past.

A longtime Tempe city councilor is switching parties to run for the state House as a Democrat after a veteran legislator announces her retirement. Ben Arredondo, who has served on the Tempe City Council since 1994, will announce his candidacy for the District 17 House seat. The move was prompted by Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill's retirement announcement, which came at a Capitol press conference on Nov. 17.

Republican legislative leaders have reached a deal with Gov. Jan Brewer to erase a portion of the estimated $2 billion budget deficit in a special session later this month, including about $300 million in spending cuts.
The plan, if carried out, would eliminate a fraction of the overall deficit, and a $1.4 billion shortfall would remain.

In her 2008 State of the State Address, Gov. Janet Napolitano proposed providing, despite the state's growing economic challenges, free college tuition to Arizona high school students who get good grades, perform community service and stay out of trouble.

House Democrats today named eight members, including three Republicans, to serve on their newly formed Task Force on Private School Tuition Tax Credits program.
Billed as a bipartisan panel, Democrats announced that the task force will be chaired by Rep. David Schapira, a Democrat from Tempe, with Tom Chabin, a Democrat from Flagstaff, named vice chair.

Following media reports that highlighted problems with the state’s school-tuition organizations, Democrats in the Arizona House have called for state and federal authorities to investigate potential abuses of the school-choice option.

There is no question that Arizona is in need of money. There is also no doubt that the state will need more roads as its population grows. Rep. Andy Biggs is hoping that a new law to allow private toll roads will help Arizona meet both needs.